Intel has announced that its next-gen client CPU platform, codenamed Panther Lake, will launch in 2026 with production commencing later this year.
Intel Sets Early 2026 As The Launch Timeframe For Its Next-Gen Client CPU Platform Codenamed Panther Lake
Intel’s Panther Lake CPUs will be the first to feature the 18A process node, which is going to be the next full-fledged advancement beyond the company’s Intel 3 process. The new technology will use several new packaging technologies and innovations and is all set for high-volume production later this year.
The Intel Panther Lake CPU family was originally planned for launch in 2H 2025 but the Blue Team is now stating a 2026 launch. Based on previous information, Panther Lake was going to see a soft launch in 2H 2025 with limited availability with higher volume being shipped in early 2026. This is now confirmed by Intel themselves.
Based on known information, Intel’s Panther Lake CPUs will feature brand-new Cougar Cove P-Cores along with Skymont E-Cores. The CPU is expected to feature 6 P-Cores and 8 E-Cores and targets mobile platforms. The biggest upgrade on Panther Lake will be the new Xe3 “Celestial” graphics architecture which will be used for the iGPU portion. The chip will feature up to 12 Xe3 cores and will be packaged together in a chiplet fashion.
The main chip will feature a total of five dies with two larger portions for the compute and GPU tiles and the other dies housing the IO, SOC controllers and a dummy die. The chips will scale from 15 to 45W, and you can learn more about the various SKUs here.
Panther Lake will be the follow-up to Intel’s Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake lineup, with the former targeting “Performance” and the latter targeting “Power Efficiency”. With Panther Lake, Intel aims to combine the best of both of these products and scale 18A. The next product to succeed Panther Lake CPUs will be Nova Lake, which should be aiming for a late 2026 launch.
Intel Mobility CPU Lineup:
| CPU Family | Panther Lake | Lunar Lake | Arrow Lake | Meteor Lake | Raptor Lake | Alder Lake |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node (CPU Tile) | Intel 18A | TSMC N3B | Intel 20A TSMC N3B |
Intel 4 | Intel 7 | Intel 7 |
| Process Node (GPU Tile) | TSMC 3/2nm? | TSMC N3B | TSMC N4? | TSMC 5nm | Intel 7 | Intel 7 |
| CPU Architecture | Hybrid | Hybrid (Dual-Core) | Hybrid (Triple-Core) | Hybrid (Triple-Core) | Hybrid (Dual-Core) | Hybrid (Dual-Core) |
| P-Core Architecture | Cougar Cove | Lion Cove | Lion Cove | Redwood Cove | Raptor Cove | Golden Cove |
| E-Core Architecture | Skymont? | N/A | Skymont | Crestmont | Gracemont | Gracemont |
| LP E-Core Architecture (SOC) | Skymont? | Skymont | Crestmont | Crestmont | N/A | N/A |
| Top Configuration | 6+8 (H-Series) | 4+4 (MX Series) | 6+8 (H-Series) 2+8 (U-Series) |
6+8 (H-Series) 2+8 (U-Series) |
6+8 (H-Series) 8+16 (HX-Series) |
6+8 (H-Series) 8+8 (HX-Series) |
| Max Cores / Threads | TBD | 8/8 | 14/14 | 14/20 | 14/20 | 14/20 |
| AI NPU | NPU5 (TBD TOPS) | NPU4 (48 TOPS) | NPU3.5 (TBD) | NPU3 (11 TOPS) | NPU2 (7 TOPS) | NPU2 (7 TOPS) |
| Planned Lineup | Core Ultra 300 | Core Ultra 200V | Core Ultra 200 | Core Ultra 100 | 14th/13th Gen | 12th Gen |
| GPU Architecture | Xe3-LPG (Celestial) | Xe2-LPG (Battlemage) | Xe-LPG+ (Alchemist) | Xe-LPG (Alchemist) | Iris Xe (Gen 12) | Iris Xe (Gen 12) |
| Xe Cores (Max) | 12 Xe3 Cores | 8 Xe2 Cores | 8 Xe Cores | 8 Xe Cores | 96 EUs (768 Cores) | 96 EUs (768 Cores) |
| Memory Support | TBD | LPDDR5X-8533 | DDR5-5600 LPDDR5-7500 LPDDR5X-8533 |
DDR5-5600 LPDDR5-7400 LPDDR5X – 7400+ |
DDR5-5200 LPDDR5-5200 LPDDR5-6400 |
DDR5-4800 LPDDR5-5200 LPDDR5X-4267 |
| Memory Capacity (Max) | TBD | 32 GB | 128 GB | 96 GB | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Thunderbolt Ports | TBD | TBD | TBD | 4 (TB4) | 4 (TB4) | 4 (TB4) |
| WiFi Capability | TBD | WiFi 7 | TBD | WiFi 6E | WiFi 6E | WiFi 6E |
| TDP | TBD | 17-30W | TBD | 7W-45W | 15-55W | 15-55W |
| Launch | 2H 2025 | 2H 2024 | 2H 2024 | 2H 2023 | 1H 2023 | 1H 2022 |
